The United Kingdom and the United States have joined efforts to mobilize climate finance for developing economies and announced commitments totaling more than $2 billion from philanthropies and companies.

Convened by UK energy security secretary Grant Shapps and U.S. special presidential envoy on climate John Kerry, as part of President Joe Biden’s visit to the UK, the Climate Finance Mobilization Forum brought together leading financiers and philanthropists with a goal of unlocking private capital and increasing support for emerging and developing economies to accelerate a net-zero, resilient transition by expanding clean and renewable energy across the globe, reducing potent non-CO₂ emissions, halting deforestation, and restoring forests, all of which will help build resilience to a changing climate. According to the forum, emerging markets and developing economies account for two-thirds of global greenhouse gas emissions, and to put the world on track to reach net-zero emissions by 2050 it is estimated that annual clean energy investment in these countries needs to expand by more than seven times—to above $1 trillion—by 2030.

Social-sector and philanthropic partners in the effort include LeapFrog Investments, an impact-investment firm operating in emerging markets, which committed to invest $500 million in companies that are addressing climate change in Africa and Asia; the Forrest Group, including Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue, Minderoo Foundation, and Tattarang, which will launch a portfolio of blended philanthropic, private, and public finance efforts; Bloomberg Philanthropies, which will expand its  support for Just Energy Transition Partnerships in countries including Indonesia and Vietnam, with a focus on ways for public and private finance to work together to unlock capital to enable economies to reduce coal and ramp up the development and deployment of clean energy; and Three Cairns Group and Sea Change Foundation, which have formed the Allied Climate Partners, a philanthropic investment organization with a mission to increase the number of bankable, climate-related projects and businesses in emerging markets and developing economies to create significant environmental, economic, and social impact.

“Today is about uniting with our U.S. allies and key enablers, using this world-leading expertise for the benefit of not just our own economies but those that will be most affected by climate change impacts—updating the king and president on what we’re doing to set us all on a path to net zero and greater climate resilience by unlocking private investment,” said Shapps.

“The climate crisis is here,” said Kerry. “It’s caused by the unabated burning of fossil fuels, and it’s going to get worse without action. No government can solve this crisis by itself. We need to work together with the private sector and philanthropy to speed up the net-zero, resilient transition.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/pidjoe)